EU agrees to revamp budget and set up coronavirus recovery plan
Officials believe that 1-1.5 trillion euros would be needed
EU leaders have agreed to revamp the EU's long-term budget and set up a massive recovery fund to tackle the impact of coronavirus and help rebuild the bloc's ravaged economies.
But deep differences remain over the best way to achieve those goals.
With more than 100,000 Europeans known to have died from the virus, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and business only slowly starting to open in some countries, the urgent need for funds in hard-hit countries like Italy and Spain has never been starker.
"This pandemic is putting our societies under serious strain.
"The well-being of each EU member state depends on the well-being of the whole of the EU. We are all in this together," European Council president Charles Michel told reporters after chairing their video-conference summit.
Published: by Radio NewsHub